FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Nick Begich, Eric Hafner, John Wayne Howe and Mary Peltola are running for Alaska’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republican Begich said Alaska needs strong representation in Congress. “There’s 435 members of the United States House, and Alaska only gets one, right, because it’s all based on population, so we’re a big state, small population, and because of that we’ve got to have a strong advocate for our state down in D.C. I don’t feel like we have that right now. I think we can do a lot better. I think we need somebody who understands the issues, is willing to show up to work, and make sure that Alaskan priorities become the priorities of the rest of the Congress.”

He prioritizes opening up the state of Alaska to resource production, and he has been meeting with congresspeople to work on that issue. “We can lock in Alaska’s right to produce our resources in congressional action, so that we’re no longer subject to the whims of a changing presidency, and I think that’s been one of the major problems that we’ve seen over the last four years, is a president that has it out for our state is able to shut down important projects in our state. We don’t want that to happen. I think that we can get that stopped through an act of Congress.”

According to Begich, Alaskans need to know they have a future in the state. “We have seen, for the last 12 years, declining populations, year after year. People are leaving Alaska, and they’re leaving Alaska because there are greater opportunities somewhere else, or because they don’t believe in the opportunities that we have here. I want to see people prosper. I want to see people prosper here today, but for generations to come, and at the end of the day, we’re a resource state. We’ve got to be open for business.”

Democrat Hafner, who is running for office from a federal prison out of state, said Alaska needs a real Democrat. “Kamala Harris is going to be the next president of the United States, and you need a representative in Congress who can work with the Biden legacy and the Harris administration, and that’s why you should vote for me, because I’m the only candidate who’s endorsing Kamala Harris, who will be the next President of the United States.”

“I’m a Democratic Socialist. I’m a progressive. I’ll work with Bernie Sandeers and AOC to implement a better America for working class Americans. I support Medicare For All. I support free college. I support student loan debt relief. I’m a true progressive,” he added.

Hafner discussed his policy goals regarding Indigenous tribes in the U.S. “One of my first things as Congressman, I will seek to officially designate Fairbanks, Alaska as the Indigenous Capital of the United States and obtain federal funding to create a National Indigenous Congress modeled after the United Nations. Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Indigenous Peoples of the United States. This unique body would serve to give Indigenous peoples the ability to debate, discuss, brainstorm and present a unified voice on Indigenous policy.”

According to Hafner, under this National Indigenous Congress, each tribe would have an embassy in Fairbanks. “Such a body would benefit Alaska economically by bringing people into Fairbanks to conduct Indigenous, bring attention to all the wonderful things Alaska has to offer the world, particularly Alaska Native arts, culture and heritage. The tourism/hospitality industries will see a new avenue to bring jobs and economic activity to Alaska.”

Alaskan Independence Party candidate Howe said he is interested in individual independence for Alaskans. “We have lots of ways that we can be more independent in Alaska without necessarily fully separating from the U.S., and I think that the closer we move to that, being the last place, really, that freedom is sought after, though not available here, because we’ve really got only one percent of the land that people are able to use right now. We’ve got 10 percent that’s tied up in Native Corporations, and I say ‘tied up’ because their busy not giving it out to the individual natives, but that’s their own fight.”

According to Howe, the federal government is afraid of the freedom and individuality of the Alaskan spirit. “The Alaskans that are up here that are really the old school and want to do and produce, if they were allowed to use this ground, utilize it, go out here the way that they used to with the modern technology that is available, there would be so many billionaires here in Alaska that the politics and crookedness that’s going on in the states couldn’t survive. We would run them out of business just by the fact of being good people.”

He discussed a tax system in which people choose where their contribution goes. “You get to choose, how much goes to roads, how much goes specifically to a road, how much goes to the general school fund, how much goes to this school district.”

Incumbent Democrat Peltola, meanwhile, said she is had a successful first two years in Congress, including approval for the Willow Project. “I think it’s important that our delegation continue to work together. I think a lot of the magic and the wins that the senators and I were able to get this year despite this Congress being the most unproductive since the Civil War, Alaska was still able to get a lot of wins because we work so collaboratively together. We’re bipartisan, and I want to keep that momentum going.”

She wants to work on improving the high cost of electrical transmission into the Interior. “The goal is that by 2040, 75 percent of Alaskans, the folks who live along the road system, will be 85 percent powered with renewable energy. Alaska has so many renewable energy potentials, and I think the number one reason this is important for Alaska is because we should be using those renewable energy sources to cheaply and affordably provide energy for our own homes.”

Peltola discussed the recent acquisition of an icebreaker for the state, saying the state needs even more. “We have such a demand for infrastructure in Alaska. We have a demand for investments in our military. I’m very proud of my vote on the National Defense Reauthorization Act. I voted ‘yes’ for the largest pay increase for our soldiers we’ve seen in 10 years, as well as renewed large investments into our military bases.

Begich, Hafner, Howe and Peltola will appear on the November 5 General Election ballot.

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